First five years try to get with the plan

"I create feelings in others that they themselves don't understand."
-Lightning McQueen

It's kind of funny how your tastes change as you get older. I think its called maturing by people who know the definitions of words. Take music for instance. Personally my musical tastes have changed quite a bit from my teenage years. Back in high school I scoffed at anything without searing vocals and face-melting guitars. Now my favorite radio station is WXPN -- a commercial-free station put out from the University of Pennsylvania that plays mostly indie stuff.

Movies are another example. Well maybe not, considering how much I enjoyed watching the Pixar film "Cars" last night. It's a G-Rated movie, after all. But from "The Incredibles" to "Shrek" these new computer animated films manage to appeal to a more mature audience drunk on Jameson.

The plot of "Cars" is pretty simple, being a kids movie and all. In summary, hot-shot race car gets stuck in small town and learns lesson about what really matters -- sweet Porsche ass. That or life can be better when you slow down a bit and see what's around you. Either way.


I guess my point is that unlike music, people with varying tastes can enjoy the same film. Even if it is in different ways. For example, in "Cars" I liked the themes of getting off the beaten path and the cheap references to Freebird, whereas a 5-year-old would be all "Vroom, vroom, go fast!"

This universal appeal is especially the case with films aimed at kids, because they have to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Kids are stupid, it's a scientific fact. In films such as this there's no violence to turn off the squeamish, or sex to turn off the prudes. And there are levels of humor, so even idiots have something to laugh at (cough, Larry the Cable Guy, cough). It's safe to say "Cars" appeals to a wider demographic than, say, Children of Men.


Anyway, I salute you, makers of this movie. You not only were able to successfully make animated cars into emotionally complex characters, you held this cynics interest for two hours. An impressive achievement in this scrabulous age.